Excreta management devices are known as articles that are designed to be worn principally by incontinence sufferers and in particular by bedridden patients. Such excreta management devices are attached to the perianal area or urethral area of wearer and are intended to entrap and immediately contain fecal material, urine and other bodily discharges. A representative excreta management device is disclosed in, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,989. It discloses a disposable elimination-trapping bag comprising a relatively long and narrow tube. The bag also comprises an aperture and an attachment means comprising an adhesive layer disposed at one extremity of the tube.
A problem naturally associated with such a device is its attachment to the human body. The approach which is mostly used in the field is to provide the device with an adhesive flange which will stick to the perianal or urethral area. The correct placement of the device to the desired area of the skin of a wearer is a key issue in the excreta management devices comprising an adhesive flange. Total or substantial misplacement of the device will lead to a serious problem, in particular, incomplete collection of feces or urine and leakage. For example, if an aperture of an excreta management device is not correctly positioned on an excretory orifice (e.g. an anal opening or a urethra opening) of a wearer, substantial pressure can occur toward the flange of the device in the defecation process. Such substantial pressure can lead to the detachment of the adhesively secured device.
If the misplacement of the device is recognized before use, the placement of the device is normally corrected, typically by the carer. In such a case, the necessary detachment and reattachment of the device to correct the placement of the device cause an additional stress of the affected areas of the skin of the wearer. Many incontinent wearers tend to have a sensitive skin due to their repeated incontinence, and furthermore, sometimes also suffer from skin irritations. Therefore, proper placement of the device in the first place is highly desirable.
A particularly relevant issue in relation to the placement of an excreta management device provided with an adhesive flange is premature sticking. Typically, a release paper which covers the flange is removed at an early step in the application of an excreta management device. In such a case, contact of the exposed adhesive of the flange with any portion of the skin of the caretaker or the wearer will lead to adhesion of at least a portion of the flange to the contacted portion of the skin. In case of a fecal collection device, premature sticking often occurs with portions of the wearer's skin remote from the anal opening intended to make contact with the flange. In case of a urine management device, premature sticking may occur with the thighs of the wearer. Once premature sticking occurs, it becomes difficult to have access of an excreta management device to a correct portion of the skin of the wearer.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open publication 1996-117261 discloses an applicator to assist the adhesive part of the diaper to be disposed to the perianal area. Such an applicator may be useful in the placement of such an incontinence product. However, the successful use of such an applicator will require training, in particular, if the applicator is not specifically designed for its purpose. A further problem with such an applicator is that a caretaker may have only one hand available for the application of the device, for example, when dealing with a bedridden patient. In such a case, it is difficult for the caretaker to correctly dispose the device to desired portions of the wearer by using the applicator. In addition, premature sticking also tends to occur when the applicator is handled by only one hand. The applicator disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open publication 1996-117261 is folded in two along the fold line of the applicator prior to use of the applicator. While such an applicator presses the adhesive part of the diaper along the fold line of the applicator toward the skin of a wearer, it cannot sufficiently press the rest of the adhesive part which is not adjacent the fold line. This may lead to insufficient attachment of the diaper which causes leakage of excreta when excretion occurs.
Accordingly, there still exists a need for an applicator which presses a relatively wide area of an attachment means, such as adhesive, of an excreta management device toward the skin of a wearer.